2. Here’s a definition of a “thigh gap” from Urban Dictionary:

Pro-anorexia or “pro-ana” material still thrives on social networks like Tumblr and Pinterest, despite their bans of thinspirational (or “thinspo”) content. A simple search reveals a pretty shocking amount of such material, easily indexable under the tag “thigh-gap” or “dat-gap.” (WARNING: “Dat-gap” is extremely not safe for work.)

4. A quick look at the content indexed under Tumblr’s “thigh-gap” tag:

Now, the term has has become sexualized by men communing on sites like Reddit — it’s become a blanket term for a rear view of a woman bending over. The thinspo connotations are still there, but the images have become far more graphic than when the term was confined to thinspo circles.

22. And of course this exists:

23. Perhaps the shocking thing is how prevalent and complex the “gap classification” has become.

Coming up with bawdy, often bizarre terms for organizing sexual content online is nothing new. The whole porn industry is full of shorthand like BBW (big beautiful women) or nicknames for illicit activities like “water sports” (the act of urinating or defecating on a sexual partner).

But this appears to be the first time the line between a term paraded around by what is essentially a self-harm community and a term used by pornographers has blurred so quickly and gone so mainstream.

25. Women in the weight-loss community, who could be seen as being attacked by “the gap goal” on both sides, are obviously frustrated.